Long-acting anti-meth treatment demonstrates protective benefits for meth addiction

Groundbreaking research to be featured at 2014 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition

2014-11-04

(Press-News.org) San Diego — A recently developed Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV)-based medication has the potential to offer substantial protective effects for patients attempting to cease methamphetamine use. This research is being presented at the 2014 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the world's largest pharmaceutical sciences meeting, in San Diego, Nov. 2-6. Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth, is an addictive substance that can cause brain damage, organ failure, stroke, open sores, rotting teeth, mania, paranoia, obsessive compulsive behaviors, psychosis, and death. Meth increases the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and chronic use has been found to be coupled with chemical and molecular changes in the brain. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 12 million people nationwide aged 12 or older have used meth in their lifetime. Currently, there are no FDA-approved therapies that specifically treat meth abuse. Dr. Eric Peterson and colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences used AAV particles to deliver genes that produce high-affinity anti-meth antibody fragments in mice. The animals were injected with either the AAV-based medications (AAV-scFv6H4 or AAV-scFv7F9) or saline as a negative control. To test the extended functionality of the AAV medications, one milligram per kilogram of meth was administered 50 days after the initial dose. Serum samples were then taken 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after meth dosing and analyzed for sustained serum concentrations of meth. Mice injected with AAV-scFv6H4 exhibited a significantly higher concentration of meth at 60, 120, and 180 minute time points, suggesting that meth was sequestered in the serum by the circulating AAV-scFv6H4 and AAV-scFv7F9 molecules. "The goals of this project are to integrate antibody engineering and gene therapy technology to generate a long-acting (months to years) antibody-based medicine that will both protect patients from relapse to meth use and minimize treatment failures associated with long-term patient compliance," said Peterson. Medications designed to diminish the psychologically rewarding effects of meth abuse could offer substantial protective effects for patients wanting to stop drug use, especially if they have the ability to reduce medical setbacks caused by relapses. Anti-meth antibody-based therapies that tightly bind and sequester meth away from its sites of action in the brain are showing promise as a viable treatment option. In addition, they are non-addicting and suitable for use in combination with existing behavioral therapies. Extensive characterization of this therapy is the next step for Peterson and his team. Future experiments will include testing different high affinity antibody fragments (with extended half-life versions of these fragments), efficacy studies in animal models of drug abuse, dose-response studies, and assessment of safety and immunogenicity. The group recently received a four-year National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse grant to support this research.

INFORMATION:

This work was supported by NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse grant R01 DA036600

The 2014 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition aims to improve global health through advances in pharmaceutical sciences, and there will be over 470 exhibiting companies and an estimated 7,000 attendees. The meeting features nearly 245 programming sessions, including more than 65 symposia and roundtables and more than 2190 posters. Download the AAPS mobile application for additional information.

All press must provide press credentials to attend this meeting and register on-site in the press room 5AB. To schedule an interview with Dr. Peterson or for any other press inquiry, please contact Amanda Johnson at ajohnson@spectrumscience.com or 202-587-2520 or Saara Khadir at skhadir@spectrumscience.com or 202-587-2519. For the most up-to-date program information, please click here.

Images and slides are available upon request.

About AAPS The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists is a professional, scientific society of approximately 10,000 members employed in academia, industry, government and other research institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS provides a dynamic international forum for the exchange of knowledge among scientists to serve the public and enhance their contributions to health. AAPS offers timely scientific programs, on-going education, information resources, opportunities for networking, and professional development. For more information, please visit http://www.aaps.org. Follow us on Twitter @AAPSComms; official Twitter hashtag for the meeting is: #AAPS2014.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Novel nanofiber-based technology could help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

2014-11-04

San Diego — Scientists have developed a novel topical microbicide loaded with hyaluronic acid (HA) nanofibers that could potentially prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through the vaginal mucosa. This research is being presented at the 2014 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the world's largest pharmaceutical sciences meeting, in San Diego, Nov. 2-6. HIV is an infectious virus that attacks T lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that prevents infections and disease. Over time, HIV ...

Medicare may need to expand options for behavioral weight loss counseling in primary care

2014-11-04

PHILADELPHIA – An important addition to the "eat less, move more" strategy for weight loss lies in behavioral counseling to achieve these goals. But research on how primary care practitioners can best provide behavioral weight loss counseling to obese patients in their practices — as encouraged by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — remains slim, according to a systematic review of this topic published today in JAMA. The study was led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "After an ...

Autism spectrum disorder: 10 tips guidance article

2014-11-04

Washington D.C., November 4, 2014 – A Clinical Perspectives article published in the November 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry proposes a tool to empower stakeholders, guide caregivers, and provide a rationale for advocates, when considering the systems of support offered to people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Organizations such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ...

NASA's SDO sees a mid-level solar flare: Nov. 3

2014-11-04

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 5:40 p.m. EST on Nov. 3, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, ...

When less is more: Death in moderation boosts population density in nature

2014-11-04

In nature, the right amount of death at the right time might actually help boost a species' population density, according to new research that could help in understanding animal populations, pest control and managing fish and wildlife stocks. In a paper in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, a Princeton University researcher and European colleagues conclude that the kind of positive population effect an overall species experiences from a loss of individuals, or mortality, depends on the size and developmental stage of the creatures that die. If many juveniles ...

Brain changes linked to prematurity may explain risk of neurodevelopmental disorders

2014-11-04

Disturbances in the early stages of brain growth, such as preterm birth – when many of the brain's structures have not yet fully developed – appears to affect the brain's neuro-circuitry, which may explain premature babies' higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Researchers led by Natasha Lepore, PhD, of The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, have located significant alterations to specific surface regions of the brain. Described in a study published online this week by the journal ...

High-speed 'label-free' imaging could reveal dangerous plaques

2014-11-04

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Researchers are close to commercializing a new type of medical imaging technology that could diagnose cardiovascular disease by measuring ultrasound signals from molecules exposed to a fast-pulsing laser. The system takes precise three-dimensional images of plaques lining arteries and identifies deposits that are likely to rupture and cause heart attacks, said Ji-Xin Cheng (pronounced Jee-Shin), a professor in Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry. The imaging reveals the presence of carbon-hydrogen ...

Hot flushes are going unrecognized, leaving women vulnerable

2014-11-04

Hot flushes are one of the most distressing conditions faced by women who have been treated for breast cancer, but they are not being adequately addressed by healthcare professionals and some women consider giving up their post cancer medication to try and stop them, a new study has shown. More than 70 per cent of women who have had breast cancer experience menopausal problems, and hot flushes in particular, which are among the most prevalent and potentially distressing problems following breast cancer treatment. These can also be long lasting, persisting for more than ...

How cells defend themselves against antibiotics and cytostatic agents

2014-11-04

This news release is available in German. "On the one hand, ABC transporters causes diseases such as cystic fibrosis, while on the other hand they are responsible for the immune system recognising infected cells or cancer cells," explains Professor Robert Tampé from the Institute for Biochemistry at the Goethe University. The considerable medical, industrial and economic significance of ABC transporters is also based on the fact that they cause bacteria and other pathogens to become resistant to antibiotics. Likewise, they can help cancer cells to defend themselves ...

The inside story: How the brain and skull stay together

2014-11-04

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (November 4, 2014) — Think about the way our bodies are assembled during early development and ask: How do neighboring cells know that they are supposed to become a nerve or a bone cell and how do these tissues find the correct place and alignment? Researchers at the University of Miami (UM) are answering these crucial questions. In a new study, UM researchers describe the signaling systems that tissues use to communicate with their surrounding neighbors, at the head-trunk region. Their discovery may have important implications for the treatment ...

Long-acting anti-meth treatment demonstrates protective benefits for meth addiction

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: